Orenthink

Oreninc Index Falls to Eleven-Week Low

The Oreninc Index fell to an 11-week low for the week ending March 26, 2015. Total dollars announced fell to $20.9m on 15 deals, 11- and two-week lows respectively. No brokered deals were announced for the first time in 11 weeks. No bought deals were announced for the third time in five weeks.

Deals were light, with the major deal of the week being Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.’s (TSX:IVN) agreement to sell China’s Zijn Mining Group a 9.9% stake in the miner. Commodities were fairly positive for the week, with oil and gold enjoying gains related to the political crisis in Yemen.

In addition to the poor weekly performance, the Index’s five-week moving average hit a multi-year low, highlighting just how bad this first quarter has been. When the only strength of the week is increasing commodity prices due to an uncertain political crisis that is unlikely to spark some sort of long-term pricing trend, you know we are in a bad place.

Oreninc Index Jumps

The Oreninc Index jumped up for the week ending March 19, 2015. Total dollars announced fell to $33.5m on 17 financings, ten- and two-week lows respectively. One brokered bought deal was announced for $25.1m, a five-week high for both.

Deals were almost non-existent again for the week. The biggest deal-making news of the week were reports that Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX) is looking into selling its Chilean Zaldivar copper mine for around $1.5b to reduce the company’s overall debt. Commodity prices for the week were mixed, with iron ore continuing its fall, but gold had a strong end to the week—rising almost 2%—on news that the US Federal Reserve will likely wait until the second half of 2015 to raise interest rates.

Although an increase in performance over last week, the financing market is still struggling, which can be seen with the ten-week low in dollars announced. As we go into spring, and enter the start of what has historically been lower performing months for the Index, it’s hard to stay positive that things will get much better before summer.

Benjamin Cox talks with Resource Investing News on why he believes gold companies are underpriced, arguing that it's "probably a short-term effect" he views as "quite a useful bump." See whether he thinks that effect will carry over to other jurisdictions. Can this self-described gold bear be tempted by this gold market?

Oreninc Index Falls Further

The Oreninc Index fell further for the week ending March 12, 2015. Total dollars fell to to $57.4m, a three-week low. One brokered and bought deal was announced for $14.2m, a two-week low and three-week high respectively.

Deal-making was almost non-existent for the week, with the only major news of note being reports that Glencore Xstrata (LON:GLEN) and OAO Russneft are in negotiations to convert Glencore’s assets in Russneft subsidiaries into a 49% stake in the Russian oil firm’s holding company. No cash will change hands in the deal. Commodity prices took a beating for the week, with iron ore hitting a seven-year low. Gold also fell dramatically to a YTD-low, at least partially on news of a better than expected US jobs report.

While the Index’s low level, mixed with the especially bad commodity prices and lack of deal-making, looks and is troubling, the fact that there were three deals above $14m for the week, is a positive. Still, the sluggishness is disappointing for an industry that can’t seem to catch a break.

Oreninc Index Drops to Eight-Week Low

The Oreninc Index fell to an eight-week low for the week ending March 5, 2015, while total dollars announced jumped to $62.4m, a three-week high. Two brokered financings were announced for $17m, a two-week high. No bought deal financings were announced for the second time in as many weeks.

No major deals were announced for the week, with reports that Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX) will try to sell their Cowal and Porgera mines, which are respectively located in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Commodities had a rough week, with gold dipping back down below $1,200 and iron ore also falling a significant amount.

It appears that investors are still having trouble reaching far enough into their pockets for there to be any real improvement in this season’s fundraising market.